Berth leg and anchor



9 1951 R. e. CUDINI BERTH LEG AND ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7, 1948 INVENTOR TTO RN EY Aug. 21, 1951 R G cUDlNH 2,565,204

I BERTH LEG AND ANCHOR Filed Dec. 7, 1948 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 21, 1951 BERTH LEG AND ANCHOR Roger G. Cudini, Birmingham, Mich., assignor to Moynahan Bronze Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application December 7, 1948, Serial No. 63,915

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

berth mattress.

to prone position.

prone position.

I9 and pillow 2D.

. The outer side wall M has a supporting bracket 2| fixed to the room face thereof on which one side of the free end of the berth pan rests when in prone position and the other side of the free end of the berth pan is supported by a leg struc- Bracket 26 is fixed to and' Retainer strap 28 is fixed to the berth' Bumper block 29,

Rubber ring 32 is preferably fixed Plug 33 is fixed in so that it can be stored against a room wall. It 5 ture 22. This leg structure and the floor anchorhas also been proposed to provide fixed bracket age therefor form the subject matter of this supports in the room for the berth when in prone invention.

position. There are some conditions where it is The leg structure is rigid and includes an not possible to mount such bracket supports at upper leg section 23 and a hollow lower leg seea desired point in the room and under these con 10 tion 24, preferably of tubular form, that teleditions a supporting leg is carried by the berth scopes into the upper section and is fixed thereto and mounted so that it can be stored over the by set screw 25.

Various types of legs have been projects above the upper edge of the berth pan;- proposed for this purpose, but considerable effort the leg section 23 being hinged to bracket 26 by has been required for their adjustment into and pin 21. The leg structure is hinged to the bracket out of operative position. so that it may be swung across the mattress at An object of this invention is to provide a the free end of the berth pan or swung down supporting berth leg and anchorage such that the along the side of the pan for supporting the leg will be self positioned in operative relation same. upon lowering the berth into its prone position. pan and engages the leg structure when in stored Another object of the invention is to provide position across the mattress. means for automatically positioning and locking preferably formed of rubber, is fixed to leg seca berth leg with the floor as the berth is lowered tion 23 by rivet 30 and is arranged to space the leg structure from the berth pan when the leg These and other objects of the invention will be 25 structure is swung into supporting position. apparent to those skilled in the art from a study The leg structure also includes a foot 3|, formed I of the following description and accompanyin as a flanged collar, that telescope the lower end drawings, in which: of leg frame section 24 and is suitably secured Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a thereto. railroad sleeping car showing a room with a against the lower face of the foot flange for hinged berth and means for supporting it in contact with the floor when the leg structure is in supporting'position.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the berth sup- The leg structure and floor are provided with porting leg taken on line 2-2 of Figure 5. cooperating mechanism for automatically guiding Figure 3 is another sectional view of the leg and retaining the 18% Structure in p pp taken on line 3-3 of Figure 5. ing position on the floor when the berth pan is Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view lowered to p o positionshowing the berth leg attached to the berth and the upper end of tubular leg Sec io 24 y' floor, the fioor being in section. set screw 25 and the lower end of the plug is Figure 5 is another elevational view of the leg, 40 if rc d o r ive the p r d f l f pr n berth and floor structure taken approximately on 34 that is secured in place by set screw 35. Rod line 55 of Figure 4 with portions of the leg 36 projects from the lower end of leg frame secand the floor shown in section. tion 24 and has a bifurcated upper end for re- A conventional railroad sleeping car H] has a ceiving the lower end of the leaf spring that is plurality of bedrooms H formed by floor l2, end secured therein by set screw 31. A detent 38, in walls l3 and side walls !4 of which the outer one the form of a pin, traverses and is fixed to the is shown in the drawings. Seat I5 is suitably lower end of rod 36 that projects beyond leg mounted on the floor of the room adjacent one of frame section 24. Hand grip 39, in the form of the end walls and the seat back It is carried a knurled sleeve, telescopes leg frame section 24 by a berth pan I! mounted on pivots 18 for and is secured to rod 36 by set screw 40. Section swinging movement into storage position adja- 24 is formed with an arcuate slot M for the cent an end wall or horizontal prone position in reception of the set screw 40 and to allow limthe room. The pan carries the usual mattress ited rotation thereof so that the hand grip and rod can be rotated relative to section 24.

In the portion of the floor l2 where the leg structure will rest when the berth pan is in prone position, a two diameter opening 42 is formed for the reception of the leg structure guiding and anchorage means. Cup-shaped housing 43 has an upper flange seated in the recess and a circular retainer plate 44 lies in the recess on the housing flange with its upper surface flush with the top surface of the floor. The retainer plate and housing are secured to the floor by screws 50. The retainer plate has a central opening 45 through which the lower detent carrying end of rod 36 may pass. Portions of the detent plate adjacent opening 45 are formed with two cam faces 46 and adjacent one end of these cam faces are openings 41 of a length and width sufficient to allow the ends of pin 38 to pass below the retainer plate. In the cup shaped housing 43 is a hollow follower 48 and coil spring 49 normally urging the follower upwardly.

When the berth pan is to be lowered, the retainer 28 is released from the leg structure which is then swung to a supporting position beside the pan as shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5. As the pan is moved downwardly, the projecting ends of detent 38 will engage cam surfaces 46 and will ride downwardly thereon until they reach openings 41 through which they will pass. This downward guiding of the detent will cause rod 36 to rotate placing spring 34 under tension so that it will force the detent ends back under the lips of the cam faces as soon as they clear the lower edges thereof. Spring pressed follower 48 will now exert upward pressure against the lower end of rod 36 and this force will prevent rotation of the detent toward openings 41. The leg structure is thus automatically guided into and retained by the floor anchorage. In order to release the leg structure from the floor anchorage, hand grip 39 is turned and through set screw 49 will turn the rod 36 so that the detent ends will align with openings 41 allowing the detent to ride upwardly on the cam faces due to the tension force of spring 42 created by turning the hand grip. The rod 26 will then clear the retainer plate and the leg structure can be swung across the mattress and retainer 28 applied thereto prior to moving the berth pan to stored position.

The invention may be modified in various respects as will occur to those skilled in the art and the exclusive use of all modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a structure for supporting a berth on a floor, the combination of. a retainer plate fixed in the floor, said plate having a keyhole opening therethrough and cam surfaces leading downwardly to the opening; a leg structure attached to the berth, said leg structure having a hollow lower end portion adapted to rest on the retainer plate and having a circumferentially directed slot therethrough; and means for securing the leg structure to the plate comprising a rod mounted for limited rotation in the lower end of the leg structure and projecting beyond the lower end thereof, a detent on the projecting end of the rod, a torsion spring connecting the leg structure and the rod, and a pin secured to the rod extending through the slot in the leg structure, downward movement of the detent on the cam surfaces of the plate turning the rod to place the spring in torsion until the detent passes through the keyhole slot whereupon the spring is released thereby turning the rod to carry the detent away 4 from the keyhole slot beneath the retainer plate, the leg structure being removable from the retainer plate upon rotation of the rod by manual operation of the pin to register with the keyhole opening.

2. In a structure for supporting a berth on a floor, the combination of a retainer plate fixed in the floor, said plate having a keyhole opening therethrough and cam surfaces leading downwardly to the opening; a leg structure attached to the berth and having a hollow lower end portion adapted to rest on the retainer plate; and means for securing the leg structure to the plate comprising a rod mounted for limited rotation in the lower end of the leg structure and projecting beyond the lower end thereof, a detent on the projecting end of the rod, a spring connecting the leg structure and the rod and normally positioning the detent out of registration with the keyhole opening, and an actuator secured to the rod and extending through the leg structure, downward movement of the detent on the cam surfaces of the plate turning the rod to place the spring in torsion until the detent passes through the keyhole slot whereupon the spring is released to thereby rotate the rod and carry the detent away from the keyhole slot beneath the retainer plate, the leg structure being removable from the retainer plate upon rotation of the rod by manual operation of the actuator to register the detent with the keyhole opening.

3. In a structure for supporting a berth on a floor, the combination of a retainer plate fixed in the floor, said plate having a keyhole opening therethrough and cam surfaces leading downwardly to the opening; a leg structure attached to the berth and having a hollow lower end portion adapted to rest on said retainer plate; and means for securing the leg structure to the plate comprising a rod rotatably mounted in the lower end of the leg structure and projecting from the end thereof, a detent on the projecting end of the rod, a leaf spring connected at its upper end to the leg structure and at its lower end to the rod, said spring normally positioning the detent out of registration with the keyhole opening, and means operable manually for rotating the rod in the leg structure, downwardv movement of the detent on the cam surfaces of the plate turning the rod and placing the spring in torsion until the detent passes through the keyhole slot whereupon the spring torsion is released thereby rotating the rod to carry the detent away from the keyhole slot beneath the retainer plate, the leg structure being removable from the retainer plate upon rotation of the rod by the manually operable means to position where the detent registers with the keyhole opening,

4. In a structure for supporting a berth on a floor, the combination-of a retainer plate fixed in the floor, said plate having a keyhole opening therethrough and cam surfaces leading downwardly to the opening; a leg structure attached to the berth and having a hollow lower end portion adapted to rest on said retainer plate; and means for securing the leg structure to the plate comprising a rod rotatably mounted in the lower end of the. leg structure and projecting from the end thereof, a detent on the projecting end of the rod, a spring connecting the leg structure and the rod and normally positioning the detent out of registration with the keyhole slot, and actuator means including a hand grip exterior of the leg structure operable for turning the rod in the leg structure, downward movement of the detent on the cam surfaces of the plate rotating the rod and placing the spring in torsion until the detent passes through the keyhole slot whereupon the spring is released to thereby rotate the rod and carry the detent away from the keyhole slot beneath the retainer plate, the leg structure being removable from the retainer plate upon rotation of the rod by the manually operable means to register the detent with the keyhole opening.

5. In a structure for supporting a berth on a floor, the combination of a retainer plate fixed in the floor, said plate having a keyhole opening therethrough and cam surfaces leading downwardly to the opening; a spring pressed follower beneath the opening in the retainer plate; a leg structure attached to the berth and having a hollow lower end portion adapted to rest on said retainer plate; and means for securing the leg structure to the plate comprising a rod rotatably mounted in the lower end of the leg structure and projecting from the end thereof, a detent on the projecting end of the rod, a spring connecting the leg structure and the rod normally positioning the detent out of registration with the keyhole opening, and means operable manually for rotating the rod in the leg structure, downward movement of the detent on the cam surfaces of the plate turning the rod and placing the spring in torsion until the detent passes through the keyhole slot whereupon the spring torsion is released thereby rotating the rod to carry the detent away from the keyhole slot beneath the retainer plate where it is retained by the spring pressed follower, the leg structure being removable from the retainer plate upon rotation of the rod by the manually operable means to register the detent with the keyhole opening.

ROGER G. CUDINI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 785,455 Vigie Mar. 21, 1905 2,250,193 Emery July 22, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 4,111 Great Britain 1890 

